February 2004 Archive

February 29, 2004

Chips de Radis Noir

[Black Radish Chips] This week's Campanier selection included three black radishes, oblong and rather large. Black radish is another one of those forgotten vegetables, so I was quite happy for the chance to experiment with it. Last time I had bought a black radish, I had used it raw in a yogurt-dressed salad, and had been rather unimpressed. I ...

"Chips de Radis Noir" continues »

February 28, 2004

Archive Spotlight

In the five months since the birth of Chocolate & Zucchini, I have written approximately one hundred and fifty entries, among which roughly half are recipes. Not all of you have read all of them of course, and even I sometimes forget what I have written about, so I thought it would be nice to have a way to make use of these archives. On the left...

"Archive Spotlight" continues »

February 27, 2004

The Double Chocolate Crisp Quest

And today, it is with a plea for help that I come to you, a call to your infinite wisdom and collective knowledge. Last time I did something of the kind, you proved to me that you were as generous with your advice and insight as I had hoped, and although I have yet to make another attempt at poaching an egg - I never seem to feel like it until ...

"The Double Chocolate Crisp Quest" continues »

February 26, 2004

L'Etoile d'Or

L'Etoile d'Or is a little candy store in the rue Fontaine, sprung right out of a fairy tale. It is but a ten-minute walk from where I live, so I find it charmingly ironic that I owe its discovery to my Bay Area blog-friend, Derrick, who mentioned it to me in a recent email : he and his wife Melissa have taken several trips to Paris, and food lo...

"L'Etoile d'Or" continues »

February 25, 2004

Is My Blog Burning? The Tartine Edition

Feeling very bad about not finding the time to make soup for the first Is My Blog Burning? event, I told Alberto that I would be more than happy to host the second edition, to be held on Sunday March 7th, 2004. For those of you not yet familiar with the concept, IMBB? is a distributed food blogging event, brought to us by Alberto : a date and a ...

"Is My Blog Burning? The Tartine Edition" continues »

February 24, 2004

Soupe Broccoli Mimolette

[Broccoli Mimolette Soup] This soup has to be the best broccoli soup I've ever had - and without a doubt the best one I've ever made. The really cool thing about it, besides being really really good, is that it is infused with flavor from two ingredients that usually get thrown out without batting an eyelash : the rind from a firm and sharp chee...

"Soupe Broccoli Mimolette" continues »

February 23, 2004

Galettes de Sarrasin

Tomorrow is Mardi-Gras, the last day before Lent begins. The Mardi-Gras tradition in France, amongst other things, is to gorge on crepes, supposedly to use up the eggs and butter that you won't be allowed to eat until Easter. I am not religious and so I don't observe Lent, but I will gladly take any opportunity to eat crepes! And last Friday, whe...

"Galettes de Sarrasin" continues »

February 22, 2004

Wallpapers Galore!

I am pleased to announce the grand opening of a wallpaper gallery from the Chocolate & Zucchini picture collection! Browse around the aisles, choose your favorite pic, decorate your desktop, and make you coworkers drool with envy! If there is any picture you like that I haven't included yet, please let me know and I will add its high-res version...

"Wallpapers Galore!" continues »

February 21, 2004

Galette Essenienne

I bought this at Pousse-Pousse, the little boutique where I buy my sprouting seeds and where I collect my weekly Campanier baskets. It is a sort of thin flatbread, made with sprouted seeds that have been ground and dehydrated. There are different flavors, depending on the seeds that have been used, and I chose the leek one (well, of course). The ...

"Galette Essenienne" continues »

February 20, 2004

Crumble Pommes Dattes

[Apple and Date Crumble] And this is the third (and final) item I baked for last Sunday's Goûter de Cousins, thinking it would be nice to make an apple crumble in addition to the two cakes. The idea was to serve something a little lighter and fruit-based for those of us who may have a small appetite, or may want to go the healthier route, or ma...

"Crumble Pommes Dattes" continues »

February 19, 2004

Gâteau à l'Orange et au Gingembre

[Flourless Orange and Ginger Cake] This is another cake I baked for our Goûter de Cousins last Sunday. I tasted my first flourless orange cake about a year ago at Rose Bakery, and absolutely loved it. I had tried to reproduce it then, and had made an Orange and Poppyseed version, adapting a recipe found on the web. It was really good - the orang...

"Gâteau à l'Orange et au Gingembre" continues »

February 18, 2004

Gâteau Fondant au Chocolat et Noisettes Caramélisées

[Chocolate Cake with Caramelized Hazelnuts] Last Sunday afternoon, my sister Céline and I organized a "Goûter de Cousins" at my place. We invited those of our cousins who live in Paris, which amounts to about a dozen. Most of them we only see once a year at family holiday parties - some a little more, some way less - and we thought it would be n...

"Gâteau Fondant au Chocolat et Noisettes Caramélisées" continues »

February 17, 2004

Crumble Poire et Marron Confit

This is the very quick and yummy dessert I served our friends the other night, just before we got back to our scheduled program of activities - video games for Maxence and Marwane, and some serious chatting for Marion and myself. This is in fact a cheater's crumble, in which the fruit is cooked beforehand (in my case a large amount of delicious ...

"Crumble Poire et Marron Confit" continues »

February 16, 2004

Chicken Udon with Cabbage and Parsnip

The other night, we had two friends over for a casual dinner : Marion, a friend of mine from university, and Marwane, whom Maxence has known since junior high. Being on a Japanese food kick induced by Maxence's recent successful forays, I decided to make some kind of udon dish topped with stuff. That seemed reasonably doable (I mean, how ambitiou...

"Chicken Udon with Cabbage and Parsnip" continues »

February 15, 2004

Shallot Parsley Dip

Our first Campanier order included a small head of cauliflower. I felt like eating it raw, and came up with this easy-breazy dip to accompany it. I wanted to eat a quick snack before joining Maxence at the movies, and this took me all of five minutes to whip up. This fresh and tasty dip can be eaten with veggies, or spread on toasted bread. Be ...

"Shallot Parsley Dip" continues »

February 14, 2004

Ceci n'est pas un Macaron

This is Pierre Hermé's Marron et Thé Vert Matcha macaron. This is a delicate confection of chestnut almond meringue and fresh chestnut cream and voluptuous green tea cream. This is a true delight, to the eye and to the palate. This is my Valentine's Day gift to you. Joyeuse St-Valentin!...

"Ceci n'est pas un Macaron" continues »

February 13, 2004

Plat du Jour

Chocolate & Zucchini now has a Plat du Jour generator! Click away, and get hundreds of thousands of dish suggestions in the pure C&Z spirit... The idea for this came to me in the middle of the night, which is sort of worrying, but anyway. Hope you have as much fun with this as I do! Note : I wrote this in English, the ever so modular language,...

"Plat du Jour" continues »

February 12, 2004

The Essential California Sandwich

Back when we lived in the Silicon Valley, whenever I ordered a sandwich, I would invariably and happily go for the California sandwich. Not only did it sound most appropriate given the location, but avocado is among my best friends, and sprouts are a fantastic addition, adding the perfect peppery crunch to its comforting and sweet tenderness. I...

"The Essential California Sandwich" continues »

February 11, 2004

Pain Complet aux Olives

Le Pétrin Médiéval is a little bakery close to our place. The name means "the medieval kneading-trough", which doesn't sound half as nice, I'm afraid. They happen to be the bread suppliers for Rose Bakery, where you can enjoy their excellent "pain intégral" with your salad. Le Pétrin Médiéval sells an array of rustic breads and no-frills pastrie...

"Pain Complet aux Olives" continues »

February 10, 2004

Yogurt Scones

We had friends over for brunch on Sunday. Maxence went out in the morning to the charcuterie shop, cheese shop, and bakery, and came back with an basketload of ready-to-eat goodies -- bone-in ham and duck terrine and eggs in aspic and cheese and freshly baked bread -- that we served with a simple salad topped with toasted pumpkin seeds. And for ...

"Yogurt Scones" continues »

February 9, 2004

The Poached Egg : Anatomy of a Disaster

I always tell you about the creations I'm happy with, so I thought I would share a bit of incompetence for a change. I cannot, for the life of me, poach an egg. I have read that you should use super fresh eggs, and I have read that week-old eggs worked better. I have read that you should add vinegar to the water, and I have read that no vinegar ...

"The Poached Egg : Anatomy of a Disaster" continues »

February 8, 2004

Le Campanier, a Lucky Bag of Produce

Campanier is a porte-manteau pun on "campagne" (countryside), and "panier" (basket). It is also the name of a cool service in which you get a weekly basket of seasonal organic produce. The little Pousse-Pousse boutique at which I recently bought my sprouting gear happens to be a pickup point, and we decided to go for the four-week test subscripti...

"Le Campanier, a Lucky Bag of Produce" continues »

February 7, 2004

Pierre Hermé's Aztec Entremets

As many of you guessed, the dessert for our dinner party last Saturday was ever so kindly contributed by pâtisserie expert and enthusiast Ulrich, he-who-works-with-Pierre-Hermé. You see, Pierre Hermé is a perfectionist and it really shows in the simple beauty of his creations. Extreme and skillful care is taken in the preparation, but once in a w...

"Pierre Hermé's Aztec Entremets" continues »

February 6, 2004

Which Came First Donburi

And this is the delicious main course that Maxence concocted for our dinner party this past Saturday! The recipe is from the same "Cooking Class Japanese" cookbook as his last cooking stint. I have taken the liberty to rename the dish though. Well, yeah, if I don't cook, I have to at least do something! In the book, the recipe is called "Chicken...

"Which Came First Donburi" continues »

February 5, 2004

Salade Figue et Poire à la Bresaola

[Fig and Pear Salad with Bresaola] While planning the menu for our Saturday night dinner party, I realized I hardly ever serve salad as a first course. I'll often use salad to accompany the star item, like a tartlet or a bruschetta or a mousse or a slice of terrine or what-have-you, but it is rarely a salad in its own right. I'm sorry. I guess ...

"Salade Figue et Poire à la Bresaola" continues »

February 4, 2004

Truffes de Chèvre Frais

[Fresh Goat Cheese Truffles] On Saturday night, we threw a little dinner party at home. A "little" dinner party for eight dear friends : Joseph (originally from Nashville but living in France, whom I met two years ago at an IT recruiting show -- we were struck by a sense of recognition, being equally bored to tears) and his wife Séverine, our al...

"Truffes de Chèvre Frais" continues »

February 3, 2004

Where Else to Find Me

To my great pleasure, I have been asked to contribute to another website, called Bonjour Paris. Bonjour Paris is a gateway for people who love France in general and Paris in particular, where you can find great articles on the culture and language and food of France, on the Parisian way of life, as well as great ressources to plan your trip, what...

"Where Else to Find Me" continues »

February 2, 2004

And The Sprouts Sprouted!

I harvested my first sprouts yesterday night, I'm so proud! The pink radish was particularly vigorous, having grown hundreds of cute little green stems, and developped symmetrical roots, with tiny lashes, on the other side of the sprouter rack. Those guys had even started to suffocate the mixed seed sprouts on the bottom rack -- I'll have to re...

"And The Sprouts Sprouted!" continues »

February 1, 2004

Cooking Ten Year Old Girls -- and Other search phrases

Some of you may remember how much I like looking at the search engine queries that have led visitors to Chocolate & Zucchini. January has come and gone, leaving another batch of intriguing/funny/puzzling/cute phrases in its wake. This month's top five : cooking ten-year-old girls (or did you mean "for"?) what the fuck macaroon free pics of girls...

"Cooking Ten Year Old Girls -- and Other search phrases" continues »